Exercise can keep muscles and mind in shape

Many of you have probably already read the article in September’s AARP Bulletin, “Get Moving for a Healthy Brain.” It is worth discussing. We know that exercise is physically good for us. As kids, we exercised without thinking about it. We walked to school in all kinds of weather, we biked for fun, in the summer we found a place to swim. Little kids and bigger ones are on the go constantly.

Though school was confining, there always was gym class, the playground. My dad walked to his office every day from 100th Street to 42nd Street in New York City, where the blocks north to south are short. He played tennis and swam. He was fit, but we never talked about it. Dad’s need to be active was a given. My mom walked the mile to the store and the mile back every day; the bread on the table was always fresh. We kids biked wherever we went. Exercise was part of living.

When we took a job and fell into a routine of work, exercise was pushed into a corner. It stopped after my husband and I married and bought a car. Then after one of us recovered from flu, the doctor must have said, “Exercise ... I do not care if you only walk, but do it.” We began walking before work and discovered one day, strolling around tennis courts, that the players seemed to be having more fun. Tennis became our game. Exercise finally was fun.

We are told by our doctors and physical therapists to keep moving, it will help us in our efforts to avoid heart problems, diabetes, obesity. Now we read it can cut the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Doctors no longer say “take it easy” when we are recovering from an everyday problem — now they say “keep moving.” Apparently not only is exercise good to warm up the muscles and keep our reflexes, balance and general health alive and well, it “is the best thing you can do for your brain.”

According to the AARP, psychologists, physicians and neuroscientists agree. From the Stanford Center on Longevity we read, “If we had a pill that could do what exercise does, its sales would put Viagra’s to shame.” The explanation is simply that exercise “boosts the flow of blood to the brain, spurring ... ‘Miracle-Gro for the brain’.”

It is exciting and encouraging to know that there is something we can do to try to ward off dementia. Studies have shown that young and old can strengthen brain power by exercising. A brisk walk is the easiest, no equipment needed, no preparation. Exercise is part of living.

Agnes Herman is a freelance columnist. Contact her at (760) 744-6878 or aggherman@sbcglobal.net